


Halo

by windrider (reapersmark)



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reapersmark/pseuds/windrider
Summary: Astoria never expected to win Nadia's heart. She was there to solve the mystery of the Count's death , and to be Nadia's magician. Little did she know, the Countess would become so much more.
Relationships: Apprentice/Nadia (The Arcana)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Halo

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the Arcana universe! I also do not own Halo by Beyonce, those are owned by Nix Hydra and Beyonce. <3 Please enjoy!

_remember those walls i built?  
well baby , they're tumbling down...  
and they didn't even put up a fight  
they didn't even make a sound..._

Astoria stood speechless, staring at the door and breathing in the faint hints of jasmine that still lingered in the air. Of all people, the _Countess_ herself had graced her quaint little magical shop in the Center City.

The... _Countess_ of Vesuvia.  
Her mind was still spinning from seeing her. Even in the dead of night as it was right now, she felt too awake to be up. Too energized from what the Countess had said to her while she was in her shop.  
She'd been invited to the very Palace to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the Count's murderer himself. But something deep inside of her had awoken as well. A part of herself that she had never allowed anyone else to see before, not even her parents.  
All this time, she thought... why her? What dreams had the Countess been having to rely on her? _She was just an apprentice, after all...She was no one special.... right?_

... _Just a mere apprentice._ The phrase rang through her head even as she rubbed her eyes and began slowly walking through her shop. Better to prepare some tonight so she didn't have to do as much tomorrow morning. She gathered simple reagents. Myrrh for protection, sage to clean out spaces, quartz to hold negative energies away. Her tarot deck. Her dream journal... even though she rarely dreamed. 

Astoria lost track of time. At one point, she must have fallen asleep in the comfy space that she and her master, Asra, had created over the years. When she opened her eyes again, it was the next morning. Time for her to pack the rest of her things and go meet the Countess as she had promised the night before. The rest of her things came together easily. A few reagents here or there, her quill, a pot of ink here. Before she knew it, she was ready to head to the castle. And to her new position as the Countess's magician. Her stomach fluttered. _Would the Countess accept her? What would the Court think of her? What if she messed up the investigation? What if...._

 **No.** She wouldn't let her anxiety get the best of her. Not this time. Something within her refused to let it take over. Not at this time. Not now. She would go to the Palace. She WOULD see the Countess. With that thought firmly lodged in her mind, she gathered her things. Her tarot deck. The reagents. Her dream journal. And she set off towards the gleaming white Palace, the jewel that shone in the distance. But before she left her shop, her home, she stopped to whisper a cross-me-not spell. She couldn't hep herself. Not after the past two break-ins by Dr. Devorak himself. It was her little shop, and she wanted to see it safe. The cross-me-not spell would help with that. She hoped, passing longing looks back at the shop as she walked slowly away. _I'll come back, I promise._ She whispered to her shop before she began a brisk walk to the market.

The market was bustling with life, full of people hawking their wares and of people browsing and buying from the various stalls. She _loved_ wandering through the market, whether it was just for the pure joy of enjoying the breeze and the outdoors, or if it was buying ingredients for the shop. Poking at the other fortune tellers' stalls around here , though she never actually went in to get a reading from them. The truth was, life around the market never died out. There was always a stall or someone in the market no matter what hour it was. As she strolled through the colorful market , she paused as the sweet smell of spices and pumpkin greeted her nose. Pumpkin bread. Soon , she heard a familiar voice. 

" Ah, Astoria ! Stop for a bite , eh? I've got a fresh loaf in the oven baking now!"

Astoria smiled, and waved at the baker. " Not today! I've got business up at the Palace. " 

" Well take one for the road anyway. There's been rumors going around all day that the Countess showed up at your shop last night. And that you let her in, and she's invited you to the Palace. " The baker went on as he wrapped one of his pumpkin loaves in a clean cloth. " Well, here's that ! Wishing you luck!"

Astoria nodded , thanking the baker profusely before she tucked the warm loaf into her bag, ducking onto a steadily rising staircase that she knew led to the palace. What she didn't see was Portia backing out of the fortune teller set up near by muttering to herself about lucky numbers , and they ended up colliding. 

" Oh! I'm so sorry.. umm..." She quickly ducked down, chasing after the pomegranates as they rolled this direction and that direction. She just barely saved one as it rolled under a packanimal's hooves. She did partially have fault in the collision anyway, so she figured she might as well help the woman gather the pomegranates back up. As she snagged the last pomegranate and handed it back to the woman with a bashful smile , the woman before her lit up. 

" Oh! Oh I know you! You're the Countess's magician!" 

Astoria blushed even harder. " I um..." 

" We were told we were expecting you today ! I know the quickest way to the castle, and well, you were so friendly..." Portia scratched her head nervously as she shouldered the basket of slightly bruised fruit back onto her shoulders. " Come on , I'll show you!." With that, Portia took off at a brisk pace right up the staircase. Astoria struggled to keep up, ducking between people as she followed Portia on her way to the castle. As they took staircase after staircase, the amount of people around them lessened more and more. They took so many stairs that Astoria was beginning to think she'd collapse before they arrived at the palace itself. The sight of the golden gates and palace guards brought immense relief for Astoria. The long and rather tiring hike up the stairs was over. She nodded her thanks to the Palace guards as she followed Portia in.

Soon , she found herself in a grand dining room, grander than any of its sort that she had ever been in before. A strange painting adorned the wall directly across from her. It depicted a feast, with a black and white goat seated in the center, surrounded by various other animals. There was something... strangely alluring to the painting, even though overall it seemed tacky among the other elegant decorations of the room.

" Ah... Astoria... do you like the painting?" 

Astoria blushed as she turned around to see the Countess watching her , quickly sitting down in the seat that Nadia beckoned to. " Umm... no." She scratched her head nervously. " The red...."

Nadia let out a soft chuckle. " I don't like it either. It was my husband's favorite. " Dish after dish of exotic food full of luxurious spices were presented before Astoria , between sips of wonderful Golden Goose. The night seemed to go on for longer than any other night she'd experienced like this, and she ... actually enjoyed this. She enjoyed being around Nadia , and getting to know who Nadia was. Something inside her fluttered, like the same feeling that she had this morning and last night in her shop in the Center City. _Was it what she thought it was?_

As the dishes began to be cleared away, Nadia smiled and turned to Astoria, her voice ringing in the dining room. " Astoria... would you like to join me for a nightcap?"


End file.
